Held ‘hostage’ over phone, forced to pay Rs 75 lakh
Telegraph | 12 March 2025
A businessman in Behala was allegedly held hostage by a cyber gang over the phone for 12 days and was forced to transfer ₹75 lakh to multiple bank accounts with threats to arrest him.
From February 23 to March 7, the 41-year-old man from Sarsuna was held as a “digital hostage” and was not even allowed to step out of his room, police said.
“A caller identified himself as a CBI officer. He said the businessman was a suspect in a money-laundering case spanning multiple cities. The businessman was told that his phone number was used in illegal transactions,” said an officer of Sarsuna police station, where the complaint has been lodged.
The caller demanded a “penalty” and threatened the businessman with dire consequences if he did not pay up.
“The victim was scared and gave in to the demand. He did not have so much money readily available. He had some pre-approved loans. He availed of the loans and when the money was disbursed to his accounts, he sent it to the bank accounts of the cyber criminals, in instalments. In total, he paid ₹75 lakh,” the officer said.
The police did not make any arrests till late on Tuesday.
On February 23, a man was arrested in Gujarat for allegedly duping a 76-year-old retired Air Force officer in New Town of ₹1.7 crore by placing him under “digital arrest”.
The septuagenarian was detained for 72 hours over a video call .